Quoting: Sidstick87
It has been scary quite w/ Pens in No UFA talks, No Trade Rumors, & No info coming out at all??
It's almost like Ownership has told GMJR he is done after going 4 for 29 in the last 29 Trades & all the off-season bad UFA signings OR maybe bc we have no Prospects & only 2- Picks left in 1st 6 Rnds in Draft??
I think they told him, Its over and u have killed this franchise??
Just really sucks bc we are only 3 good bottom 6 forwards (2-3rd liners & 1- 4th liner) & a real NHL caliber back-up away from being a playoff team.
I think if they were blaming JR he'd be gone by now. Although honestly I think he should be on his last year at this point, but that's just me. He's not the guy needed to move this team forward. He should probably pack up and move to a team that is starting to close out a window that needs a better GM to make a push. He's the right guy for that job. But he doesn't know how to close the window shut and start moving forward. Which is what this team needs right now. At 33 and 34 these guys need youth around them to extend their careers. He's not the guy to do that. They need someone willing to roll the dice and gamble on the younger players. Which is why trading away 1st all the time is killing this team. I honestly think they could have done without Kap and selected Mercer or Chinakhov or Lapierre. They should have simply selected and taken a run at a winger in FA while giving themselves a chance to go with the youth if need be. Mercer at 3C right now would look really nice next to Poulin and McCann. For the 3.2 mil they are paying Kap they could have taken a run at a few other guys, like Vesey, Fast, Nichushkin. I'm not sure the difference between those guys and Kap is a 1st. Matter of fact I think they are all about equal. But that's the choices he made because he's not willing to trust the thing that won him the cup here. aka youth.
He doesn't want to gamble on the youth. He'd rather gamble on expensive vets.
But as for the team. I think they need to rely on their youth that they have to be competitive at all. If you think they need 2 3rd liners and a 4th liner. Then you play Poulin and that's one. You play OConnor and that's a 4th liner for you. Yes you are still missing one 3rd liner, but frankly there are none. So maybe play Blueger at 3C and give a guy like Zohorna a try at 4C. Or you play Legare and tell McCann to play center. I'm not sure that's a better option though.
I also think you use the youth and replace Ceci namely Maniscalco.
I don't think the goalie situation is as bad as you make it. I think I counted 6 back to backs, and it's a short season. They will be fine. If Jarry gets hurt it doesn't matter they would be dead in the water no matter who the backup was in that case. Same with many other teams.
But if he rolls out the season and it's Jankowski, ERod and Ceci. You can count the season as good as done.
Because that's not going to win us games. It's clearly the GMs fault.
Personally I would have loved so see a lineup like this.
Jake, Sid, Namestnikov.
Zucker, Malkin, Rust
McCann, Mercer, Poulin
OConnor, Blueger, Tanev....till ZAR gets back. ZAR Blueger Tanev
Dumo Letang
Petterson Marion
Matheson Maniscalco.
I think I would at least look at that and say, now or never go for it. Let the youth step up because if they can't we don't deserve to win anyway and nothing better was coming.
But we got what we got at this point and it is what it is.